South Africa’s First National Bank (FNB) has revealed its banking application has reached 400,000 users, motivating innovation in the industry.
“This means we will be looking for new ways to make our customers’ lives a lot easier, every day. Just like we have always done,” Farren Roper, Head of FNB Connect ISP and Business Operations, said at the ITWeb-Business Connexion Application Services Executive Forum, at Melrose Arch.
“This means we work harder; it means what we did this year won’t matter next year; it means we are going to have to come up with something better than the ground-breaking innovations we’ve had before.”
Winner of the South African best developed app title in 2012, it was the first banking app to be released in the country in 2011.
HumanIPO reported earlier this week on the app’s availability through eWallet to non-FNB customers.
Roper honoured the innovative development team at the bank for the exponential growth and said: “We are always innovating at FNB. We regard ourselves as rebels in regards to innovations, as we do not want to be caught by the competition.”
He also referred to FNB’s achievement as most innovative bank at the BAI-Finacle Banking Innovations Awards.
The prestige is owed to the rewarding of staff members, according to Paul Steenkamp, Head of Employment Branding and FNB Innovators, who also spoke at the event.
“We are always embedding, protecting and nurturing a culture of innovation at FNB,” said Steenkamp, who regards the app’s usability, adoptability and desirability as the winning recipe for its success.
